Childhood Memories Revisited at 9 Eagles State Park

Following Interstate 35 south from Des Moines, you’re only 4 miles from the Missouri border before exiting toward the small town of Davis City, population 195. The nearest town for supplies is Lamoni, but hand lettered signs at the end of farm driveways may offer eggs, produce, baking, or Amish hand-woven baskets.

The campground is quiet as we arrive. Often we camp alone, in seclusion, though once we shared with a couple of elderly brothers who visit each spring to hunt Morel mushrooms.

With no cell service, Doug and I are forced to relax in comfy camp chairs placed on the dried pine needles that cushion the gravel camp site, books and magazines waiting to be read as we lounge.

There is no playground in the immediate vicinity, so the girls turn to the toys of my own youth – sticks, rocks, and leaves, fashioning fairy houses at the base of trees, setting up targets to throw rocks at, or just drawing in the sandy dirt. Simple activities a world away from our usually connected lives.

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About Jody Halsted

Jody Halsted is an award winning writer and podcaster specializing in travel, Ireland, camping, and RVing.
Based in the Midwest, Jody is a rambling soul who would love nothing more than to split her time between her RV and Ireland, but until then she ‘lives the dream’ in Iowa with her husband, two daughters, and a small menagerie of furry friends.